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Saturday, February 20, 2010

ON Friday, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has given a terse release saying “Mr Saran has been permitted to demit office with effect from March 14”. Yet, the exit of Shyam Saran, a 1970 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and one of the key architects of India-US nuclear deal, was not as simple as this Tweet-like short message was meant to be.

For Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, it has been a tough job to carve out an honourable position for this diplomat-turned climate change negotiator after Shiv Shankar Menon, a 1972 batch IFS was made national security advisor (NSA) at the rank of a minister of state. Though there were speculations that Mr Saran would also be given the rank of a minister of state, as it has been in case of advisor to PM, TKA Nair, it was not done in the backdrop of his disagreements with India’s environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh.

After all, Mr Ramesh who is a close confidante of the Prime Minister, is also a minister of state, and that means the elevation of Mr Saran to the same rank would make it a complex story as both of them don’t see eye to eye in all crucial climate change matters.

It remains to be seen whether the government would still entertain the views of two other retired officials, C Dasgupta, a 1962 batch IFS and former environment secretary Prodipto Ghosh, a 1969 batch UT cadre IAS, as both of them too were highly critical of Mr Ramesh’s views on climate change!

(In Picture: Saran with former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice; file photo)

Question Time

A question on “assets of officers in public domain” will come up in Lok Sabha on February 24, 2010 during the current budget session. The questions that would come up in Rajya Sabha on February 25 are related to Central resolution on whistle blowers act, CBI cases in Assam, performances of civil servants, and filling of backlog vacancies etc.

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Corridor Update

India Public Sector

NBCC signed an MoU with the Government of Assam on February 2 for the construction of a 65-storied Twin-Tower Trade Centre in Guwahati valued at about Rs 1,950 crore.

Advertorial: Chhattisgarh Housing Board

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Advertorial: NBCC

A world class Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) will come up at India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) at a cost of about Rs 2,500 crore. And NBCC (India) Limited will build that landmark structure which is expected to be a symbol of the Prime Minister’s vision for “New India”. For more, log into nbccindia dot com or click at the photo.

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Born in 1959, Oil India Ltd has spread its wings overseas with footprints in countries such as Libya, Gabon, Nigeria, Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela, USA, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Russia and Myanmar. Click at the photo to know more about the rising company.

Advertorial: Chhattisgarh Government

Digital Highway in Bastar: How 832-km-long optical fibre network is being laid in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. Click at the photo to know more.